Gypsum As an Agricultural Amendment
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Bulletin 945 Authors Liming Chen Research Associate School of Environment and Natural Resources The Ohio State University Warren A. Dick Professor School of Environment and Natural Resources The Ohio State University Disclaimer This guide was funded in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) under a Resource Conservation Challenge grant. The contents of this guide do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. EPA. The mention of trade names, individual companies, commercial products, or inclusion of web links to sites describing such materials or services is provided for information exchange and educational purposes only. Such mention does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation for use, or any form of implied warranty. Copyright © 2011, The Ohio State University Ohio State University Extension embraces human diversity and is committed to ensuring that all research and related educational programs are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or veteran status. This statement is in accordance with United States Civil Rights Laws and the USDA. Keith L. Smith, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Agricultural Administration and Director, Ohio State University Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868 Contents Preface.........................................................................................4 Chapter 1: Sources and Properties of Gypsum.......................................................5 Chapter 2: Properties of Gypsum That Provide Benefits for Agricultural Uses ...........................8 Chapter 3: Agricultural and Land Application Uses of Gypsum.......................................13 Chapter 4: Gypsum Application ..................................................................18 Chapter 5: Economic Considerations Related to Gypsum Use ........................................24 Chapter 6: Analytical and Technical Support.......................................................27 Chapter 7: Gypsum Handling and Storage .........................................................30 List of Figures .................................................................................33 List of Tables ..................................................................................34 Abbreviations and Basic Conversion Factors .......................................................34 Element Symbols...............................................................................34 Conversion Factors for SI and Non-SI Units........................................................35 Gypsum as an Agricultural Amendment: General Use Guidelines 3 Preface Gypsum is one of the earliest forms of fertilizer used A sustainable society cannot continue to extract in the United States. It has been applied to agricultural resources to create products and/or by-products that soils for more than 250 years. Gypsum is a moderately are then subsequently disposed of in landfills. It is soluble source of the essential plant nutrients, calcium imperative that recycling of all kinds of materials is and sulfur, and can improve overall plant growth. encouraged and becomes more common. Agricultural Gypsum amendments can also improve the physical applications represent important new beneficial uses and chemical properties of soils, thus reducing erosion for FGD gypsum. It can augment or replace commer- losses of soils and nutrient concentrations (especially cial mined gypsum, thus avoiding both energy-inten- phosphorus) in surface water runoff. Gypsum is the sive and water-intensive mining activities associated most commonly used amendment for sodic soil recla- with gypsum extraction. mation and can be included as a component in Currently there is a lack of published guidelines that synthetic soils used in nursery, greenhouse, and land- provide general best management practices related to scape applications. These multiple uses of gypsum land application uses of gypsum, including FGD represent potential benefits to agricultural and horti- gypsum. To overcome this lack of information, Region cultural users. 5 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Currently, a large amount of flue gas desulfurization The Ohio State University provided support to the (FGD) gypsum is produced by removal of sulfur authors to prepare this management guide titled dioxide (SO₂) from flue gas streams when energy Gypsum as an Agricultural Amendment: General Use sources, generally coal, containing high concentrations Guidelines. An abundance of practical information of sulfur (S) are burned. Initially, most of the FGD related to agricultural and land application uses of gypsum produced in the United States was used in the FGD gypsum is included in the pages that follow. This wallboard industry and only a small amount was used guide is also available online at http://ohioline.osu. in agriculture. However, FGD gypsum is suitable for edu. agricultural uses and, similar to mined gypsum, can The purpose of this management guide is to provide enhance crop production. As with other fertilizers and general information about gypsum, especially FGD agricultural amendments, FGD gypsum must be used gypsum, as a soil amendment in Ohio as well as other appropriately to avoid potential negative impacts on places where FGD gypsum is available as a resource. both agricultural production and the environment. In This information will be useful for crop producers, soil many respects, there are similarities between the agri- and crop consultants, horticulturists, environmental cultural use of FGD gypsum and nitrogen fertilizers in consultants, environmental regulatory agents, and that both can provide crop production benefits but, if FGD gypsum producers and marketers. improperly used, can also lead to negative environ- mental impacts. 4 Gypsum as an Agricultural Amendment: General Use Guidelines Sources and Properties of Gypsum Gypsum is a soluble source of the essential plant nutri- Combustion of coal produces 52% of our national need ents, calcium and sulfur, and can improve overall for electricity. During combustion, fly ash and bottom plant growth. Gypsum amendments can also improve ash are produced (Figure 1-2). If the coal contains the physical properties of some soils (especially heavy appreciable amounts of sulfur, sulfur dioxide is also clay soils). Such amendments promote soil aggregation produced, and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and thus can (1) help prevent dispersion of soil parti- restrict sulfur dioxide emissions into the atmosphere cles, (2) reduce surface crust formation, (3) promote from coal-fired facilities. This has spurred the develop- seedling emergence, and (4) increase water infiltration ment of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems that rates and movement through the soil profile. It can scrub the sulfur dioxide out of the flue gases and also reduce erosion losses of soils and nutrients and successfully bring utilities into regulatory compliance. reduce concentrations of soluble phosphorus in surface These FGD systems can generate large quantities of water runoff. Chemical properties improved by appli- products, including gypsum (Figure 1-2), which must cation of gypsum include the mitigation of subsoil be placed in landfills, deposited in surface impound- acidity and aluminum toxicity. This enhances deep ments, or beneficially recycled. rooting and the ability of plants to take up adequate supplies of water and nutrients during drought periods. Gypsum is the most commonly used amend- ment for sodic soil reclamation and can also be included as a component in synthetic soils for nursery, greenhouse, and landscape use. These multiple uses of FGD gypsum represent a great potential to provide benefits to agricultural and horticultural users. Several possible sources of gypsum for agricultural use are currently available in the United States. These include mined gypsum from geologic deposits, phos- phogypsum from wet-acid production of phosphoric acid from rock phosphate, recycled casting gypsum from various manufacturing processes, recycled wall- board gypsum, and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) Figure 1-2. Increase of total coal combustion products (CCPs) gypsum from power plants. FGD gypsum represents a including fly ash (FA), bottom ash (BA), boiler slag (BS), and new and large volume source and is produced when flue gas desulfurization (FGD) materials from 1966 to 2006. coal is burned to produce electricity, heat, or other (American Coal Ash Association, 2010.) forms of energy (Figure 1-1). Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum is created in limestone-forced oxidation scrubbers that remove sulfur dioxide from the flue gas stream after coal combustion. In general, a wet scrubbing process first exposes the flue gases to a slurry of hydrated lime. Capture of SO₂ by the lime slurry initially forms calcium sulfite (CaSO₃•0.5H₂O). Forcing additional air into the system oxidizes the calcium sulfite and converts it into gypsum, i.e., CaSO₄•2H₂O (Figure 1-3). During and after the oxidation process, washing of the by-product can remove some water-soluble elements such as boron (B). Also, in some cases, removal of fines can decrease mercury (Hg) concentrations. The final step of the process involves partial removal of water by Figure 1-1. Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) product is created a combination of centrifugation and vacuum filtration. by a scrubber that